Discussion Resistance can lead to issues such as implementation delays, increased employee stress, and even low productivity. On the other hand, pragmatic resistance to change can benefit organization

Social Media at the Museum

LO 7.5

In the past, institutional mission and strategic vision were reviewed every four years; now, they are reviewed every time someone posts to Facebook, comments on a blog, or opens a new Twitter account. (Allen-Greil et al., 2011)

Social media could itself trigger dramatic organizational changes, as well as creating new channels of change communication. For example, social media is changing the ways in which museums interact with the public, and also how museum staff members communicate and work with each other. Allen-Greil and colleagues (2011) argue that, used effectively, social media can further the mission of the organization and foster more agile and collaborative organizational cultures. There are many wider cultural, political, and social pressures encouraging openness and collaboration. Social media offers a new set of tools with which organizations can respond to those pressures.

Allen-Greil and colleagues studied three museums: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH); Monticello, a historic house and research institution; and the J. Paul Getty Trust (the Getty). These museums have adopted different approaches to the use of social media.

At NMAH, social media contributes to public programming, focusing on education and visitor services, complementing the existing email newsletter, website, and other online communications. At Monticello, the focus lies with relationships building, and in particular on increasing the organization’s “social media outreach.” This means using social media to increase the number of “online visitors.” In contrast, the Getty is using social media to “get off the hill.” The Getty has a reputation for being inaccessible as it is located on a hill above the 405 freeway, and visitors have to take a quarter-mile tram ride to get up there. Social media thus allows the Getty to “take the collections and programs into the community” and to promote its educational and research work.

Sometimes the Best Thing Managers Can Do Is Get Out of the Way

Staff members who have collaborated on social media projects in these museums have created new channels of communication and new ways of thinking and working with each other. The leadership of these initiatives was mainly “bottom-up” and did not rely on senior management experts. Allen-Greil and colleagues note, “Effective collaboration means staff members need to cross lines traditionally drawn between different working groups, and probably across lines drawn between hierarchical levels within the institution.” Social media may thus lead to flatter hierarchies and “horizontal working.” The study also found that an increased level of online engagement with the public led to an increase in face-to-face conversations among staff. Why? Social media project staff had to meet with colleagues across the organization: human resources, legal department, registrars, publishers, and educators. The authors argue, “Social media are pushing us together in a very personal way. New conversations between staff members who have never had any reason to talk before are establishing new relationships and new lines of engagement.”

A Perpetually Beta State of Mind

Senior managers need to encourage staff to experiment with social media, to develop more efficient and effective processes. However, at the Getty, the use of different social media platforms, by different groups of staff, meant that initiatives were often uncoordinated and some even competed with each other: “In a large, hierarchical institution, this kind of testing, rapid prototyping, and risk-taking is pushing the boundaries of the usual, highly-controlled content development processes.” Although exciting for staff, spontaneous experimentation may not be sustainable. However, Allen-Greil and colleagues askPage 242 us to consider, “What would it really be like if we could work in a perpetually beta state of mind? If we could try, fail, and try again? We are closer than you think because it’s already happening at every museum that uses social media.”